Cardiovascular reactivity in anger-defensive individuals: the influence of task demands

This study examined whether the elevated cardiovascular response to stressful stimuli previously suggested for individuals who are defensive in their reporting of anger might be moderated by the demands of the stressor task. Forty male undergraduates were exposed to four tasks: shock avoidance video game, handgrip, film, and cold pressor. Employing cluster analysis, defensive/low anger subjects were identified by high scores on the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale and low scores on the Spielberger Anger Expression and Trait Anger questionnaires. These individuals exhibited elevated heart rate and systolic blood pressure responses as compared with other subjects, but only to the shock avoidance task. Defensive/low anger subjects also reported less state anger to all tasks. It is proposed that an anger defensive style results in elevated cardiovascular activity only in interaction with stressors that elicit a sympathetic nervous system response and/or involve evaluation threat.